Hi! I'm just about to make my choices for University to do Animation and I was wondering what did you enjoy (or hated) the most about your time in Higher Education?? By the way...LOVE "Welcome to Hell" ;)

Hey there! Well, from talking to other animation students, it seems like you could have a pretty different experience depending on what school you go to and what they focus on, but I’ll try to give you my two cents on it!

First, the stuff I hated most. There’s this thing that seems to happen at a lot of art colleges, regardless of what you major in, and it’s this perceived “high brow vs. low brow” dichotomy. Some art is considered more elevated; they’ll call this “fine art”, and it’s the more classical interpretation of what art is. Painters, sculptors, fine print-makers, whatever. Other art is considered lower; they’ll call this “applied art”, or “practical art”, or “commercial art”, or “functional art”, and they’ll say it with a scoff. So, animation, graphic design, industrial/interior design, etc. Anyone who uses art to DO something other than provide an aesthetic experience. I took some electives in the “fine arts” courses, and I literally had a teacher ask me sarcastically if I’ve ever used a paintbrush before. I won’t go into some of the more ridiculous details because I’m STILL VERY BITTER ABOUT IT, but this is something I’ve noticed with other art students too. I’m told at CalArts that some of the experimental animation students don’t feel like they’re welcomed in the character animation classes, I’ve heard of film history majors talking down to film making majors, etc etc etc. I just feel like in almost any situation, people (whether it’s the teachers or the institutions, or the students) will find a way to create this fake divide to feel better about themselves, and it’s super weak.

THE STUFF I LOVED THE MOST THOUGH, which FAAAAAR outweighs the stuff I hated, is that I was constantly surrounded by other artists who were hungry to learn and get better, and that motivated me to do better myself. I finally found people I could talk to about not just animation, but storytelling and character development and anything else. Being around people that spoke my language! Being around other artists who you could learn something from, and maybe teach something to in return. There was a lot of self-directed study, a lot of discoveries made. It was walking in packs to the convenience store down the street and getting taquitos. It was sitting around with friends ‘til 2am discussing the history of Superman, or the impact Ren & Stimpy had on modern TV animation. It was meeting different people from different walks of life who all came together because we wanted to make art that moved on it’s own.

And even the “high brow/low brow” thing wasn’t enough to spoil my experience… if anything it gave us something else to unite against and bond over! Haha.

Your reality is important and what you feel and who you are is valid, no matter what anybody wants to tell you, no matter what the world wants to think, you’re valid and your feelings are valid, and you’re important, and you’re loved and you belong anywhere, cause you’re a human being and you fucking belong and I love you.

Part 2 of how to draw costumes! I go through the research and the silhouette parts of the process. Enjoy it!

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Something that helps me is setting a repeating timer at 15 minute intervals. I start the timer and let myself rest for the first loop, which gives me 15 minutes to calm down from any anxiety I might have over starting a hard project. When the timer goes off, I start working and keep working for the next loop. When the timer goes off again, I rest again. Rinse and repeat until whatever I need to do is done

Can you still be bisexual even though you are barely attracted to guys and the thought of having a relationship with one repulsed you?

Absolutely!!! Who you are in a relationship with does not define your sexuality and ‘barely attracted’ is still attracted. Attraction to genders does not have to be equal! All it takes is being attracted to two or more genders!

If you feel that bi is the label that best fits how you feel, then welcome to the bi club! :)

So I kind of off-hand came out to my dad as asexual, and I guess he kind of sees it as a joke, which is okay to me, I guess. He's also made it known that he would accept me no matter what sexuality I am, and I'm super happy for it, but for some reason, I'm having a hard time telling him I may one day bring home a person of the same sex, since I'm panromantic. Not sure if you have any advice, but I appreciate it!

Hey Anon!

A lot of parents have a difficult time accepting asexuality because it’s so foreign to them. It was only in 2001 that the Asexual Visibility & Education Network was founded. And there’s a lot of people who still have no idea about the split attraction model (when your sexuality and romantic orientation don’t match up, i.e. being asexual and panromantic).

So if you would like your dad to not possibly be surprised later, I say start educating now. It doesn’t have to be a huge production. Just be like, “Hey so do you remember when I mentioned I was asexual? Well I really am and I want you to know [insert things you want him to know here].”

You can graduate up to explaining the split attraction model if you’d like. I’m not sure how close you and your dad are, so you’ll have to figure out how much information is enough at a given time. But I recommend patience while explaining things. It’s new and different and sometimes that’s hard to accept for some people.

Eitherway, I’ll always be here for you if you need to talk or need advice.